The
Hinamizawa tragedy has just crossed the screen to become a real-world problem.
A huge controversy has erupted on the internet following the announcement
of SoulChat, a new interactive project based on the legendary Higurashi
When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) franchise. While the
premise of interacting directly with the characters via the messaging
app LINE sounded like a horror and mystery fan's dream, the obvious
use of generative AI in the promotional images completely
ruined the party.
Deformed
hands and a lack of respect for the original work
The first
chapter of this experience, based on the Onikakushi-hen arc,
is scheduled to be released on April 17, 2026. However, as soon as SoulStudio published
the promotional art showing the "modern" designs of the characters,
it didn't take even five minutes for the otaku community to
take out the magnifying glass. Users quickly detected the classic anomalies
that give away AI: hands with anatomically impossible shapes
and inconsistent lines on the protagonists' clothing.
But what
really offended the veterans of Ryukishi07's work were the
sets. Higurashi is famous in the industry for basing his
terrifying village and iconic Furude Shrine on real locations in Japan (such as
the village of Shirakawa-go). Seeing automated tools trash these iconic
locations, replacing them with generic backgrounds that don't match the actual
geography, was taken as a slap in the face to the franchise's legacy.
The
community demands transparency
Japanese
forums were filled with withering criticism. A large part of the followers
expressed their frustration arguing that relying on generative software without
being transparent about it cheapens the brand and shows laziness on the part of
developers. The demands are very clear: they want the studio to show their
faces, explain if they really used these tools, and to hire real human artists
to redraw the affected material.
So
far, SoulStudio has only limited itself to boasting that the
interactive chat will work with its own patented technology, but they have kept
a stony silence regarding the accusations about the promotional art. It remains
to be seen if the project will manage to clean up its image before its imminent
debut or if the shadow of artificial intelligence will end up scaring away
players.
